A Chinese court has ordered Molly Tea, a domestic tea brand, to pay US$1.5 million in damages to Louis Vuitton for trademark infringement, according to a report by Inside Retail Asia. The dispute centered on Molly Tea's use of a four-petal flower design that closely resembled Louis Vuitton's iconic monogram pattern.
Molly Tea had previously attempted to register its own versions of the flower device with Chinese authorities, but those applications were invalidated prior to the judgment. The court found that the tea brand's use of the design constituted willful infringement, given Louis Vuitton's established reputation and the close resemblance between the marks.
The case highlights the strict enforcement of intellectual property rights in China, particularly for luxury brands. Louis Vuitton's four-petal flower is a registered trademark globally, and the ruling serves as a warning to local businesses about the risks of imitating well-known designs, even in unrelated product categories like tea.